When people think about the malaise era, great cars are not always the first things that come to mind. Although it wasn't the best automotive decade, some great cars were still produced. What is your favorite car from the 1980s?

Generally thought to be a period of rebuilding from the plague of the Malaise era, the 1980s rarely get the respect they deserve for producing some great cars. Sure, a lot of the cars produced in the 1980s were crap, but the same can be said about the decades that came before and after. The fact that 80s cars are currently in the limbo of not old enough to be truly collectible and too old and outdated to be relevant to modern automobiles doesn't help their reputation much.

Perhaps because it is the decade of my birth or maybe because I've owned more 4 wheeled products of the 80s than any other decade, a decent portion of the vehicles that occupy my fantasy garage are from this 10 year span. E30 M3s, IROC Z-28s, Monte Carlo SSs, Firebird TTAs, E28 M5s, K5 Blazers, 4runners, Turbo Supras; The list goes on from there. Most of them are nicer better optioned versions of the more abused and rusty vehicles I actually owned. The stand out is the car seen here, the 1987 Buick GNX.

I realize I get zero points for originality, but my love and desire for a GNX cannot be denied. A one year only ASC/McLaren hyper tuned versionl of the Grand National, the GNX was the fastest American Production Car made in 1987 (it was faster then the Corvette, official numbers be damned). Of the 547 made, many such as the one you read about last weekend have been spent more time sitting in a hermetically sealed chamber not being driven then terrorizing the streets as they should be. Although outclassed in performance by most new muscle car, the 3.8 Turbocharged engine makes the fun to drive factor hard to beat. Combine that with a total blackout package and you have one mean looking 80s car I would love to own. Unfortunately, I am not alone in my GNX desire and they don't come cheap when they occasionally change hands.